The email from Maha Bali came the night before I left for my trip to Puerto Rico, a red-eye flickt on February 1. She was asking people to join the Virtually Connecting event planned for the EDUCAUSE ELI meeting:

Rebecca’s bday is Feb 2nd and we were hoping to surprise her during a Virtually Connecting session during #ELI16. Not sure exactly what, but singing happy birthday i think?

Part of it can be off the record if some ppl prefer (and i think those who wanna be off the record can leave and others can join in for a recorded part). The folks onsite already know and are in on it.

This was on my first day here in Puerto Rico, and I was unable to attend, but I wondered if I could do something quickly for Rebecca. And thinking about the story of her and Maha co-creating Virtually Connecting made my mind jump to the Beatles’ With a Little Help From My Friends. Maybe because I had been playing it lately on my guitar, and experimenting with adding some harmonica. The A harp (usually for playing key of E blues) seemed to work ok.

So I dashed out a re-write of the lyrics and did a recording; this was maybe the second take. There’s a funny part I left in the middle where my brain mis-fired and I hit the wrong chord, and just laughed.

Yes, my harmonica playing is still on the bleating learning curve; it’s really hard to get the feel for playing something on it other than the rhythm of the guitar.

It might read like it’s equally Maha’s song the way the words go, but I really had in mind the generosity and care Rebecca showed in their first rounds of Vconnecting.

I think the lyrics are my favorite part! “Do you need anybody?” “I need somebody to care.” “Could it be anybody?” “Yes if you’re virtually there.” not to mention the re-dooing of “Billy Shears” as “Virtually There”

C D E
Virtually... there.
C D E
Virtually... there.
E F#m
What would you think if I'm not in the room,
B E
Would respect be that hard to earn?
E F#m
Lend me your ears and I'll share some ideas
B E
And I'll try not to talk out of turn
D A E
Oh I connect with a little help from my friends
D A E
Mmm participate with a little help from my friends
D A E
Mmm gonna be there with a little help from my friends
What do I do when with conferences far away?
(Does it worry you to be left alone?)
How do I feel by the end of their day?
(Are you sad because you're on your own?)
No I connect with a little help from my friends
Mmm participate with a little help from my friends
Mmm gonna be there with a little help from my friends
C#m F#m
(Do you need anybody?)
E D A
I need somebody to care
C#m F#m
(Could it be anybody?)
E D A
Yes if you're virtually there
(Would you believe in friends never met?)
Yes I'm certain that it happens all the time
(What do you see when the hangout they left?)
My glow and a chat log and that's fine
Oh I connect with a little help from my friends
Mmm I participate with a little help from my friends
Mmm gonna be there with a little help from my friends
(Do you need anybody?)
I need somebody to care
(Could it be anybody?)
Yes if you're virtually there
Oh I connect with a little help from my friends
Mmm gonna be there with a little help from my friends
Yes I get by with a little help from my friends
With a little help from my friends

Top / Featured Image: That’s a photo of Rebecca, Maha, and Hoda at the ALT-C conference, where the two virtual friends met in person. The photo is from Rebecca’s blog post.

I inserted it into a photo of my own of my laptop, I think that might be in a train? Sorry, I covered you up, Howard! That flickr photo is http://flickr.com/photos/cogdog/14339989252 shared under a Creative Commons (BY) license

The post "I Connect With a Little Help From My Friends" was originally pulled charred and crispy from a smoky charred oven at CogDogBlog (http://cogdogblog.com/2016/02/connect-with-a-little-help-from-my-friends/) on February 8, 2016.

This should be like the VC theme song or something! We should totally play it at conferences when we present :)
I also love the one you did for my birthday. How the heck does something you’ve been doing for less than a year become such a big part of your identity?